Tui T. Sutherland’s Wings of Fire series holds a special place in my heart—it was the series that really got me into reading when I was younger and sparked my interest in fantasy. I’ve been keeping up with it on-and-off since I was first introduced to it in 2015, and 11 years later the series is still ongoing! With the recent release of book 16, The Hybrid Prince, I thought it would be fun to revisit the series and create a guide for either fans who need a refresher of this world or anyone who wants to jump into the series!
The Basics of the World
A world full of dragons—this is what Wings of Fire is at its core. There are humans, though they are called “scavengers” and are not a dominant species in this world. Besides the dragons, no other mythical creatures appear in the books.
There are ten species of dragons (tribes), though we are only introduced to seven of them in books one through ten. These seven tribes are: SandWings, MudWings, SkyWings, SeaWings, RainWings, IceWings, and NightWings. The tribes introduced in books 11-15 are: HiveWings, SilkWings, and LeafWings. Each book includes a tribe guide with an illustration of the typical dragon and information about what they look like, their abilities, and their queen. In books one through five, also included is who the tribes are allied with in the war; books six through ten include the students each tribe has sent to an all-inclusive academy.
Included at the beginning of each book is a map of the continents which the story takes place in; for books one through ten it’s a map of Pyrrhia, and for books 11-15 it’s a map of Pantala. Both continents are shaped like dragons, and the tribes that inhabit those continents are spread out in their own territories (for the most part).
The Arcs
A 16-book series can be daunting to anyone, and there’s always a risk of losing track of the plot. Luckily, for Wings of Fire, the books are divided into different arcs that focus on a single plot. Along with different plots, each arc has a central prophecy that foreshadows the events of the arc and guides the characters’ actions—be they in line with or in defiance of the prophecy.
The first arc, consisting of books one through five, focuses on the Dragonets of Destiny and their mission to decide who the next SandWing queen will be after a 20-year war. The first couple of books within this arc focus less on the war between the SandWing sisters, Blister, Blaze, and Burn, and more on the dragonets discovering the world and learning about the families and cultures they were stolen away from. By book four, however, the war plot takes precedent and the series begins to question fate and the agency of the characters.
Books six through ten make up the second arc of the series, focusing on the next generation of dragonets after the SandWing war. This arc introduces Darkstalker, a NightWing from thousands of years ago set on destroying the IceWings because of his father’s abuse. The protagonists of this series are the dragonets of the Jade Winglet at the academy as well as a character introduced in book one, The Dragonet Prophecy. Animus magic—a rare and under-researched ability dragons can be born with—is heavily explored in this arc alongside the other abilities some of the tribes have.
In the third arc, we’re introduced to the remaining three tribes and their conflicts. Taking place on Pantala, this arc follows Blue and Luna the SilkWings, Cricket the HiveWing, Sundew the LeafWing, and Snowflake the IceWing. The main themes include oppression, challenging authority, and discovering that saving the continent is a lot easier said than done.
The fourth arc, the current arc of the series, returns us to Pyrrhia and Jade Mountain Academy, The Hybrid Prince being from Umber the MudWing’s perspective. From what I can gather, this arc will further expand the Wings of Fire universe in terms of new tribes, more about Pantala, and further exploring animus magic.
Legends, Winglets, and the Graphic Novels
Along with the books from the main series, Wings of Fire has extra stories that are optional for people to read but enrich and give new insight into the world. These books are divided into Winglets and Legends.
There are two Wings of Fire Legends books: Darkstalker and Dragonslayer. Darkstalker focuses on the life of the antagonist of arc two, taking place centuries in the past. Alongside expanding on Darkstalker’s character from a more internal perspective, this book establishes why the rules and myths about animus dragons exist in the main series. Dragonslayer is from the perspectives of scavengers: Ivy, Leaf, and Wren. This book gives more information on Queen Oasis’ death, taking place alongside the events of the first arc.
The Winglets are short stories that provide the backstories of side characters but are less in-depth than the Legends. There are a total of five, with four appearing in a collection titled The Winglets Quartet.
Prisoners is the first of the Winglet stories, following Fierceteeth—Starflight’s sister—and her time as the SandWing queen’s prisoner. It takes place after the war in the first arc has concluded. Assassin follows Deathbringer, two years before the events of the main series. It shows how he ended up being an assassin for the NightWings, and sets up his relationship to his missions. Deserter is from Six-Claws’ perspective, a dragon introduced in the fifth book of the series. It follows his life from being a dragonet to his time as Queen Burn’s soldier, and shows how he ended up in the Scorpion Den. Runaway takes place thousands of years before the main series, and a few years before Darkstalker. This Winglet focuses on Arctic, Foeslayer, and Arctic’s fiancée, Snowflake. It’s the story of how Arctic and Foeslayer fell in love and the events which led to the birth of Darkstalker.
Hero is not included in The Winglets Quartet, being the most recent Winglet to be introduced in the series. It follows Cliff, a SkyWing prince and Queen Scarlet’s grandson. The story takes place during the first arc and emphasizes just how cruel Scarlet was as a ruler.
The graphic novels are not additional stories, but rather retellings of the main series in illustrated form. As of March 2026, books one through nine have been made into graphic novels, as has Darkstalker. Books one through four are available as a box set, as are books five through eight. Book nine, Talons of Power, is not included in a box set yet.
And that’s Wings of Fire! With arc four just beginning, there’s no better time than now to jump in.
Grace McCool, Pine Reads Review Writer & Editor